The Republic Tigers dispensed some addictive auditory treats when I saw them a few months ago at Spaceland. I ended up acquiring their release Keep Color and quickly became very familiar with the album as it has been on steady ipod rotation for quite a few weeks.
Radars To The Sky
Radars To The Sky continues to harness the buzz they built up after wrapping up their successful Echo Residency in April. Spaceland was filling up nicely as the members of Radars To The Sky took the stage. Andrew Spitser (Vocals/Guitars) announced early on that they were without their usual bass player but had some excellent help from members of Death To Anders, The Hectors and the Flying Tourbillon Orchestra. "Victoria" had its usual sense of urgency with Seamus (Guitars) and Andrew rapidly strumming their guitars. Andrew introduced "Sunk My Teeth" as a response to his brother going to Iraq, as the song had was equally biting in the music as well as the lyrics. A familiar hyperkinetic drumbeat became instantly recognizable as a cover of "Age of Consent" by New Order. Kate Spitser (Vocals) and Andrew traded off vocals as Kate closely matched the classic synthesizer patch. "Big Bang" was an appropriate closer with its slow build up before ending in a sonic explosion. I also managed to catch their set at the Detroit Bar on July 31st after Pinback which I will post in a few days.
The Republic Tigers
Keep Color is one heck of debut LP from The Republic Tigers. "Feelin' The Future" plays like a cross between the Shins and MGMT as the chorus blasts out of the stratosphere with vocal harmonies. Tightly woven guitar parts infused with another batch of glorious vocal harmonies make up a strong foundation for "Made Concrete". The Republic Tigers ventured back to their self-titled EP for the electronic tinged track "Drums". Kenn Jankowski (Vocals/Guitars) and Ryan Pinkston (Guitars) both had extra drums set-up for them as they pounded away for a thumping version of "Sinkin' Annie Down, Down, Down, Down". Bubbling electronic elements percolated through the air as the intro to "Golden Sand" morphed into a frenzied blast of guitars and urgent vocals. "Give Arm To Its Socket" is one of my favorite songs from the album as it has the perfect mix of guitars and electronic programming that ruminates in your head all day. Shades of influence from Travis can be identified in the song "Buildings & Mountains" due to its memorable acoustic guitar riff and delayed vocals. Adam McGill (Guitars) had a Epiphone B.B. King "Lucille" guitar plugged into an Electro Harmonix Memory Man while Adam McGill (Guitars) alternated between a Fender Jazzmaster and an acoustic guitar. Spaceland did not budge when The Republic Tigers didn't come back for an encore. The Republic Tigers were happy to oblige as they came out for another song to cap a perfect evening.
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